Our rankings were based on the Real Clear Politics averages of national polls and those in New Hampshire and Iowa, the first two voting states. We also factored in candidates' fund-raising numbers and their momentum (or lack thereof).

How did we do? Not bad!

Amid fervent talk about whether Trump was for real as a candidate, we put him fourth. We definitely gave too high a ranking to Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin (third), whose campaign ended after 71 days, and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida (second), who dropped out after South Carolina's primary.

And Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas (eighth), who ended up as the runner-up to Trump, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont (ninth) were ranked a bit too low.

What follows is our original assessment of the 2016 presidential field and the end result for each candidate.